Avenue Queer
by AlaskianCity
Summary: It's been a year since the events of the musical, and things on Avenue Q are going well. Or, you know, as well as things on Avenue Q can go. Three new tenants, straight out of college, move to the Avenue; and find themselves caught up in the craziness.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome one and all to...(insert drumroll here)...Avenue Queer chapter one! This story takes place about a year after the events of the musical; and Kate and Princeton are still going strong, Christmas Eve and Brian have moved (but will pay a visit in later chapters!). Rod, Nicky, and Ricky are living together, also. The story is centered around three best friends who move to the Avenue...and are a bit weirded-out by all the singing and whatnot. **

**Okay, so now that we're all caught up, let's begin the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Good morning, Kate Monster!" shouted Gary as Kate strolled out of her apartment. It was about nine A.M., and the sun was beating down of Avenue Q. Kate waved at the superintendent cheerfully and walked down the steps as Princeton, who had recently moved in with Kate, stepped out behind her.

"Morning, Gary!" Princeton called as he caught up with his girlfriend. She linked her arm around him and they walked in unison towards the superintendent. Gary rolled his eyes.

"There should really be a law here about PDA, _sheesh,_" Gary joked as he crossed his arms. Kate and Princeton chuckled slightly. "And where are you two headed this fine morning?"

"We're going to Kate's class' graduation," began Princeton, kissing Kate lightly on the forehead, "she gets to lead the graduates in the symbolic 'You Are My Sunshine' singing; don't you, sweetie?"

Kate smiled brightly. "Yeah, I do, honey." Gary sighed. Ever since the two of them had gotten together, Kate and Princeton had been inseparable in the most disgustingly beautiful way. Every day it was the same: 'I love you, snookie-bear', 'I love you _more_, honey-bunch', and their list of pet names for each other seemed to be infinite. Lovey-duddle, snoochie-poo, anything silly name you could think of; they had used it.

"So what are _you _up to this morning, Gary?" asked Princeton.

"Oh, I'm just getting ready for the newbies to move in. I'm working on my opening song; I was thinking something along the lines of a Glee-type mashup of 'It Sucks to be Me' and 'Purpose'. What to you think?"

"I love Glee!" piped Kate, her voice giddy with excitement. Gary couldn't blame her – she devoted her entire year to helping the kindergarten class she assisted with whenever they needed help spelling things like 'dog' or 'algorithm' or some other word they needed to work into their term papers.

"It was alright." added Princeton, patting Kate on the shoulder. She giggled quietly. "Wait," Princeton continued, "what newbies?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Gary, slapping his knee, "I forgot to tell you all, didn't I? We've got some new kids moving in. Fresh out of college, I think."

"Sounds cool," Princeton shrugged, and Kate nodded along with him, "we'll be sure to say 'hi' later, won't we pookie-pie?"

"Yes we will, pumpkin!" And with that, the two strode away hand in hand. Gary fake-gagged.

* * *

Astrid breathed deeply as she took in the stench that was Avenue Q. Beside her, Brent and Leila crinkled their noses, obviously equally as disgusted. "This is it?" inquired Leila, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"Yeah." sighed Astrid, gripping her suitcase tightly. Brent chuckled heavily.

"Kind of a step down from Yale, eh, Astrid?" he said, teasing her. It was true, of course, but Astrid knew it was only temporary. Once she made it big, she would be done with Avenue-whatever-letter-of-the-alphabet. She didn't care if it was Avenue Z, this was only temporary. After all, a business major like her was bound to be successful.

They approached the apartments, searching for 2B. When they finally spotted it, they began to walk towards it, only to be jumped in front of by a short black man wearing suspenders and a baseball hat which he wore backwards on his head. "Hello!" he shouted jubilantly, his arms stretched out wide, "Welcome to Avenue Q!" He then did something that took the three friends by surprise...he began _singing. _

Now, Astrid had seen all the musical movies there were to see (she had wasted no time doing school work in her dorm, there was procrastinating to do), so she thought she would be a little more prepared if someone broke into song in front of her, but she really wasn't. And then there was this feeling that Astrid had in the back of her head that told her that she had seen this man before. Still, she didn't think too much about it. Finally, Brent cut into the man's song, "Um...we're supposed to be moving in? Can you tell us where the superintendent is?"

The man stopped singing. "That would be me! I'm Gary; and you are...?"

Astrid spoke up, "I'm Astrid. This is Brent, and Leila." she said, gesturing towards each of her best friends. Brent nodded and Leila waved kindly at Gary.

"Astrid...what kind of name is that? Like, Norwegian or something?"

"Scandinavian, actually." she replied quietly. She already hated this neighborhood. Not just because the superintendent didn't know what nationality her name came from, more because that same superintendent had broken into song right in front of her, and it still smelled bad.

"Well alright," Gary said, jokingly offended, "here's your keys, and there's your apartment." he pointed to 2B, which they had already identified. He asked if they needed anything else and they said 'no', so he finally left them alone.

Leila turned to Astrid. "Why are you so aggravated? You've been angry ever since we got here."

"Well, it's not exactly as if it was _my _idea to lower our standards to something like...this. I mean, what is this? 'Graduate School Musical'?"

Brent interrupted her. "It's really not that bad, when you think about it."

"I'm just wondering," Astrid continued, "why we couldn't have found something better."

"We can't _afford _anything better! Not without finding another roommate, and I thought we agreed that none of us want that." Leila added.

Astrid sighed. "You're right. And we'll be out of here in no time, right?" Brent and Leila smiled and nodded, and so did Astrid. That's what she loved about her friends; they always knew how to calm her down when she went into one of her 'stubborn business-woman phases'. They always had the right words, all set and prepared to repeat to her in order to make her feel better. She could get by living on Avenue Queer if she had them with her.

The three started to unpack, taking in their new surroundings. The apartment wasn't big, but it wasn't overly cramped, either. Astrid could live with it. For now, anyway, she thought. Leila seemed happy enough staring out the window, though Astrid had no idea what she could possibly be looking at. Brent danced around as he unpacked his various socks, belting out show-tunes he knew by heart. He had just begun singing 'Annie' when she cut him off. "No. More. Singing." she snapped, pointing her index finger at him. He threw his hands up and began to hum, using one of his socks as some obscure prop in the musical that was his life. Oh the joys of adulthood, thought Astrid.

But seriously, what _was _it with all that singing earlier? Was it some kind of joke or a prank? Astrid couldn't be sure. She was still pondering this when she heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it!" shouted Leila, running towards the door. She opened it up and there were three men standing before them. Two of them _had _to be identical twins.

"Hi, I'm Rod. This is Ricky, and this is Nicky. We're your new neighbors!" shouted one of the men, the one that didn't look exactly like the other two. Ricky and Nicky nodded beside him, each smiling politely. Leila waved and introduced herself as well as Astrid and Brent.

"Astrid...that's Scandinavian, right?" asked Nicky, shoving his hands in his pockets. Astrid raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah...it is..." she shook her head, "so we'll see you guys later?" The three men nodded and waved before stepping out of the apartment and closing the door behind themselves.

"O-M-G, you _like _him!" squealed Leila from behind Astrid.

"I do not-" began Astrid defensively, but Leila interrupted her.

"I was talking to Brent! You were totally checking Rod out!" she continued, patting Brent on the back. He nodded silently, grinning from ear to ear. Astrid smiled at him.

"You two would be _so _cute together! Me and Leila should set you guys up!" said Astrid, and Leila nodded in agreement. The three friends stood together in the apartment, half of their things unpacked and a whole future ahead of them. They were ready to take Avenue Queer by storm.

* * *

**Okay; so I'm thinking for later chapters, the pairings will be Kate/Princeton (yeah, they won't be all-fluff-all-the-time forever!), Astrid/Nicky, Brent/Rod, and maybe some others if you leave your suggestions in a review! Speaking of reviews, I really enjoy hearing feedback from readers and suggestions for later chapters, and it would also be great if you guys could tell me your favorite quote from each chapter. Thanks, and the next chapter'll be up soon! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so here's chapter two! I usually don't update without any reviews...but I think this story has real potential, so I'm going to keep going! Still, I feel like I'm flying blind, because I have no idea what the readers want to see happen in the story! So please review :) **

**Alright, let's get back to the story!**

* * *

Astrid looked around at all of her clothes scattered across her and Leila's small bedroom, everything wrinkled and discombobulated. Back in her old dorm, this would have been unacceptable. Her old roommate, Claudia, would have all but bit her head off. But now, in the "real world", Astrid could do whatever she wanted, in theory. Of course, Leila and Brent would hate her if she became a complete slob. Astrid probably couldn't go a day without tidying up, just by force of habit. Even sitting alone in her bedroom, she felt that she needed to do something productive, like write a paper or study some notes. Outside of the college environment, she was just _useless. _In the kitchen, Brent and Leila were searching through newspapers for jobs, and Astrid knew she was supposed to be joining them. She thought; she _could _do that, or she could go scuba diving, or cliff diving, or some other kind of diving. She could do _anything. _It was kind of...scary.

Suddenly, the door bell rang. "I'll get it!" called Astrid, leaping off of her bed and out to the front of the apartment, opening up the door to see a short monster standing in the doorway.

"Hi, I'm Kate Monster!" exclaimed the girl, "I live right near by."

"Oh, hi," began Astrid, becoming accustomed to the awkward "meet-and-greet" between her and all of the new neighbors. It started with Rod, Nicky, and Ricky, and she had since met everyone else on the Avenue; and it wasn't that she didn't like them, it was just that they were even stranger than Avenue Queer itself. "I've met your boyfriend." What a stupid thing to say, thought Astrid, you don't just _say _that to someone.

"Oh, isn't he great? He's so great. I think he's great." squeaked Kate, a broad smile forming on her face. She was obviously head over heals for the guy. His name was Presley, or Prince, or something like that. "I love Princeton so much!" squealed Kate. Oh, _Princeton. _OK.

"Astrid, who is it?" said Leila from behind.

"Oh, this is Kate Monster. She's another neighbor. Where's Brent?"

"I'm right here!" And so the trio met Kate, who was surprisingly rather normal, unlike the majority of the neighbors. Astrid invited her inside, and the four sat around the kitchen table and each had a cup of coffee, talking and laughing about local politics that they read about in the newspaper.

"So, a bunch of us were going to go to the Around-the-Clock Cafe tonight. Do you guys want to tag along?" asked Kate finally, looking to each of the roommates.

Astrid was about to accept, but the Brent spoke first. "Who is 'a bunch of us'?"

"Uh, Princeton, me, Rod, Nicky, Ricky, Gary; that's it."

Leila spoke next. "We'll totally be there!" she said in her perky voice. Brent and Astrid nodded in agreement.

"Sounds great! I've got to go now, Princeton's probably wondering where I am. We're all meeting at the cafe at seven!" and with that, Kate left the apartment.

The trio stayed at the table for a minute. "Seven o'clock? That's not much time. And if Ricky's going to be there..." said Leila, adjusting her tank top.

"Leila...don't bother. Ricky and Rod are a _thing._" spat Brent, lowering his head. Astrid put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Brent, you'll get your chance. Just don't stress about it, alright? We're going to have fun tonight." Astrid ensured him, patting his back. They could worry about finding jobs and cleaning their rooms tomorrow; they had tons of "real world" time to do all of that. What was one fun night out of the three-hundred-and-sixty-four other nights in the year?

A few minutes later, Astrid took a shower. She dried her hair and then stood in her room again, scanning the area. All of her clothes were spread out onto the bed, and some t-shirts were crumpled on the floor. It was then that she started worrying about what to wear. She didn't know why; it was just a casual thing, right? But still...she should look nice. She brushed the thought out of her mind; because really, who was she trying to impress? Nobody cared what she wore. Astrid chose a green tank top with ruffles on the sleeves and a jean skirt. Good, she thought.

She walked into the living room, where Brent was waiting on the couch, his hair slicked back with gel and water, a nice shirt on, complete with dress shoes. "Was I supposed to dress like that?" she questioned, although she was smiling.

"No, I'm just...trying to make a good impression."

Astrid raised her eyebrows. "Ooh la la."

Brent shook his head at this, standing up. "Leila, it's almost seven! We've gotta get going!" Leila, who was perpetually late, came rushing to the living room, her hair still a bit damp. Astrid let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Leila wore jeans and a t-shirt. She didn't know why, but Astrid felt...nervous. It must have been because she was going out with people she barely knew, she thought, dismissing the feeling. She would get to know them after tonight.

"Alright, Brent, then let's go." said Leila with mock-disapproval.

* * *

The trio set out, having a bit of difficulty locating the cafe. Once they found it, it was even harder to find the neighbors. It was Friday night, but even so, they didn't expect it to be so crowded. Finally, Astrid, Leila, and Brent heard Princeton shout to them. "Hey, guys! Over here!" They turned and saw the six neighbors waving them over to a table. Once they were all together, Gary spoke.

"Well look who it is, Little Miss Scandinavia!" Astrid looked up after a moment, realizing that he was talking about her.

"Oh...yeah. Sorry about that. Not a great way to hit it off with the superintendent." she laughed slightly.

"Astrid's always been the nitpicker of the bunch." grinned Leila, turning towards Ricky. "She's so much more uptight than the rest of us."

"Thanks, Leila, really." Astrid said sarcastically.

Leila waved her off. "So tell us about yourself."

"I moved in with Rod and Nicky about a year ago," began Ricky, yawning, "I work at the vegan supermarket a few blocks over. It's mellow."

"I like mellow. Mellow is good." Leila was basically swooning, and it was kind of embarrassing. Astrid needed a distraction.

"Uh, so, Nicky, what do you do?" she inquired, turning towards the rest of the group.

"I'm a waiter; at this Italian place nearby. It's actually really cool; you should come by. It's not exactly 'mellow', but it works." Astrid sat up a bit straighter in her seat after he finished talking, feeling sloppy by just looking at Nicky's bad posture.

"That's nice." There was an awkward silence. Astrid hated those; they were just so...awkward. There was no other word to describe them.

"So, are we going to order drinks, or what?" exclaimed Gary suddenly, breaking the silence. Everyone nodded, a bit frazzled, not knowing what to say, and they ordered.

Astrid listened to stories of Kate and Princeton's "oh so romantic" life together, and how they both took their coffee the same way, and how they both love Josie and the Pussycats; things like that, before she came to the conclusion that she would never come up with something exciting or engaging to say. She recalled that Claudia, her old roommate, had once told her that she came up with her best ideas while she was drunk, so Astrid figured it could work for her.

A few drinks later; all of Astrid's words were slurred. "And I was all, like, 'don't use that tone of voice with me, because you're a doughnut!' Am I right? Am I right?"

Rod stared at her. "Uh...yeah. You sure showed that doughnut. Anyway; Brent, do you want a ride home? It's kind of a long walk."

"Sure!" Brent coughed, regretting the eagerness in his voice, "Yeah, sounds cool."

Leila furrowed her eyebrows. "Can I ride with you guys, too?" Rod and Ricky nodded slowly, but then turned towards Nicky.

"Our car only fits four." said Ricky, but Nicky brushed him off.

"No, it's fine, I'll walk." he said dismissively. Everyone stood up and started to head towards the exit except for Gary.

"I'm staying! The showgirls come on in a few minutes!" everyone laughed at this, Astrid a bit too loud, and continued to the exit.

Outside, Leila and Brent were so eager to get in the car with Ricky and Rod that they forgot about Astrid, and left her on the sidewalk outside the cafe. Slowly, she started to walk towards the Avenue, stumbling and not able to walk in a straight line. Finally, she felt a hand on her arm. "Hey! Mugger!" she shouted, starting to slap the person holding on to her on the chest.

"No, relax, it's just me. It's just Nicky."

"Who's Nicky? Are you a doughnut? Where's my doughnut?"

"Whoa, you're really hammered."

Astrid giggled and started to sing. "_If I had a hammer! I'd hammer in the morning! I'd hammer in the evening...all over this land!_"

"No, shh, stop!" laughed Nicky, trying to get Astrid to quiet down. Finally, she stopped singing and started moaning.

"I lost my roommates, I don't know how to find them! We should call the police-"

"No," said Nicky, still laughing. He took Astrid's hand in his and began to walk slowly beside her, guiding her towards the Avenue.

"Stop! My roommates are in the doughnut shop..." she complained, trying to wrestle her hand free. Nicky kept on chuckling.

"It's fine, it's alright, we're going to see your roommates."

"Doughnuts?"

"Uh...yeah. They'll have lots of doughnuts."

"Thank...God..."

"Whoa there!" Nicky had to grab Astrid by her waist to keep her from falling over. She groaned some more, but Nicky was finally able to get her back to her apartment. "Here you are." he said quietly, releasing her hand by the door and knocking on it. Leila answered, looking distressed but immediately relieved after seeing Astrid.

"Oh God, thank you _so _much. Brent and I were _so _freaked out. She's drunk, isn't she?" sputtered Leila, pushing her hair back.

"Yeah, majorly. It was no problem, I'm right next door." he smiled and then left, walking to his apartment. Leila pulled Astrid into apartment and then into their bedroom.

"Where's my doughnuts? Nicky said doughnuts. Sexy...Nicky is sexy..." complained Astrid.

Leila snorted. "What did you just say?"

"I said doughnuts..." Leila chuckled and then sighed.

"OK, go to bed now, Astrid."

"Not before doughnuts..." Astrid then ran out to the kitchen and threw up in the sink.

"Just great." groaned Leila, who rushed to hold up Astrid's curly blond hair as she puked some more. "Brent is going to be so peeved when he sees this."

Astrid coughed. "Why?"

"Because I'm not cleaning this up."

Some time later, Astrid got to bed. As soon as her head hit her pillow she was out like a light.

She woke up the next morning and didn't remember a thing about the night she had had.

* * *

**So there you have it, chapter two! I had a lot of fun writing Astrid's drunken doughnut dialogue, and I hope you guys found it funny! More updates coming soon! P.S. In your review, let us know your favorite song from Avenue Q! Mine is definitely "I Wish I Could Go Back to College", and I'm curious as to what everyone else's is! :D**


End file.
